Miffed Mom of Fired Critic Cancels USA Today Subscription

USA Today canned about 70 employees on Wednesday, including film critic Scott Bowles, who had been with the paper for 17 years, reports the New York Times. Bowles says there's no proof, but he believes he was fired—right after returning from the memorial service for his dad, Detroit Free Press journalist Billy Bowles, reports JimRomenesko.com—to make way for younger, less-expensive reporters. But there's one person even more upset about his firing than he is: his mom, who immediately called the paper to say she wanted to cancel her subscription, Bowles revealed in an email to colleagues, as noted by Romenesko.

"When the guy took mom's cancellation order, he said, 'May I ask why you're canceling?' 'Sure,' she said. 'You laid off my son today.' 'I'm sorry to hear that,' he said. 'What if we offer you 25% off the subscription rate for an entire year?'" His mom, Bowles noted, declined the offer. (More USA Today stories.)